The department said in a press release on Friday that some of the books had been rejected for non-compliance with state content standards, Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking [Best]but that 21% of the books were not approved “because they incorporate banned topics or unsolicited strategies, including CRT”. Department staff rejected an additional 11 books “because they do not align well with Best Standards and incorporate banned topics or unsolicited strategies, including CRT.” Critical racial theory is an academic practice that examines the ways in which racism operates in U.S. law and society. The publication does not list the titles of the books nor does it provide excerpts explaining the reasons why the books were removed. The announcement follows a series of tough nuclear measures by Republicans in the state to change teaching in schools, as conservatives raise the issue of critical racial theory in the country’s ongoing political culture wars. In June last year, the Florida Board of Education decided to ban the teaching of critical race theory in public schools. This included teaching the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times series 1619 Project, which reviews American history in the context of slavery and its aftermath. In a statement, Florida Republican Gov. Ron de Sandis welcomed the Department of Education announcement and accused some book publishers of “catechizing” children with “concepts such as racial essentialism, especially for elementary school students.” Florida Democrats reprimanded the announcement. Democrat Carlos G Smith said on Twitter that DeSantis “turned our ranks into battlefields and that’s just the beginning.” Several Republican-controlled states in the United States have passed measures seeking to ban the teaching of critical race theory, which is likely to be a hotbed of Conservative debate in this year’s midterm elections. Many of these bills and ordinances are vaguely worded, leading to fears of censorship on school and college campuses across the country.